Speed-reducing device for aeroplanes



. G. PETTIGREW.

SPEED REDUCING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES- APPLICATION FILED LAN-6, 1919.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

)Mr wroe: a a @Mfi ATTORNEY.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARFIELD PETTIGREW, 0F ELWOOD, INDIANA.

SPEED-REDUCING nEvIcE ron AEROPLANEVS. v

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 26, 1920,

Application filed January 6, 1919. Serial No. 269,794.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, GARFIELD PETTIGREW, acitizen of the United States, residing at Elwood, in the county ofMadison and Stateof Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Speed-Reducing Devices for Aeroplanes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to safety appliances for aeroplanes or the likeand has reference more particularly to theequipment of an aeroplane withdevices that are designed to operate as parachutes to check.

the speed *of the aeroplane when it is being landed.

, An object of the invention is to rovide an aeroplane with means forenabling the operator to land gently in order to obviate or lessen theliability to damage the aeroplane or injure the occupant thereof.

Another object is to provide an improved safety appliance for aeroplaneswhich shall be so constructed as to operate tolower the velocity of theaeroplane when descending, in order to reduce the danger of descendingmovements to the minimum.

A further object is to provide improved safety appliances of theabove-mentioned character which shall be so constructed as to be oflight weight and be efficient, durable and economical in use.

With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsists in providing an aeroplane or flying machine with foldablesafety appliances to be put in operation at will and to act to resistthe movement of the aeroplane in flight, more particularly whendescending toward the ground; and, the intention consists further in theparts and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafterparticularly described and further pointed out in the accompanyingclaims. n

Referring to the drawings comprising .parts of this specification,Figure 1 is a front elevation of an aeroplane provided with the improvedsafety appliances; Fig. 2 is a front view of one of the safetyappliances in its casing, the appliance being shown by broken lines inoperative position; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the aeroplaneand one of the appliances arranged thereon; Fig. 4 is a top or plan viewof one of the safety appliances spread out in operative position; and,Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan of the aeroplane and one .13 and acoverpart 14.

of the safety appliances thereon in folded arrangement, the top part'ofthe casing of the appliance being omitted.

Similar reference characters in the different figures of the drawingsindicate corresponding elements or features of construction hereinreferred to. r

In the drawings only so much of the aero plane is shown as willcharacterize the machine and lead to a full understanding of theinvention, the aeroplane having a body 1, planes or wings 2 and 3 and apropeller 4. The side of the body 1 are suitably provided with theparachute devices which 3 may be variously constructed and mounted so asto be permitted to expand or spread out against the atmospheric air toretard the downward movement of the aeroplane.

Constructed as illustrated two straight rods 6, 6 are provided which arearranged forward arms preferably being diagonally arranged on the rods.A fabric web 9 is se- I cured at its middle portion to each rod so as tobe adjacent to the rear end thereof, the

web being similar in design to the cover of.

an umbrella and it has cords 10 connected to the edge thereof that aresecured tothe rod adjacent to the forward arm 7 thereof, so that the webmay be gathered and folded about the rod, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Twosimilar casings are provided. for the two parachute devices, comprisingabottom part ach casing is designed so as to have a pointed forward end,and the two parts thereof are suitably supported so that they maybesimultaneously withdrawn from the folded web and its cords. Preferablythe lower part of each casing has a supporting arm 15 rigid thereon andthe cover part a similar arm 16, and the two arms are connected togetherbe tween their ends by means of a pivot 17, the ends of the arms beingprovided with pivots 18 and 19 respectively with which links 20 and 21are respectively connected, the links being pivotally connected to abracket 22 secured to the side of the aeroplane body 1. A hook-link 23is connected anchored to the aeroplane body 1 and con' as to be broughtinto engagement with thehook-link 23 to push the latter from connectionwith the pivot 19, and a pull rod or link 28 is connected to the tripfinger to operate it, the pull rod or link extending to the operatorsposition in the body of the aeroplane.

The parachute devices are carried in folded arrangement and inclosed bytheir casings, so as to be ready-for use-in emergency.

- In practical use when it is desired to retard the aeroplane duringdescent the operator operates the pull rods or cords 28 so as toactuatethe trip fingers 26 and cause the hook-links 23 to be disconnected fromthe pivots 19, thus permitting the springs 24 and 25 to swing the links20 and 21 up to the side of the aeroplane body, which action causes thearms 15 and Him be operated so as to carry the parts of the casing apartand toward the aeroplane body, leaving the webs 9 exposed totheatmospheric air, so that the webs are forced open as the aeroplanemoves downward, the webs being held in proper position by their cords soas to present concave sides to the air which produces retarding ofmovements of the aeroplane and insures more gradual landing movements.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Anaeroplane provided on its sides with foldable safety devices to beopened to the atmosphere to retard the flight of the aeroplane, andcasings'for the devices having contractible supporting arms mounted onthe aeroplane.

2. An aeroplane safety appliance including two rods horizontallyarranged on opposite sides of the aeroplane body and having arms securedto the body, two webs secured to the rods respectively and foldablethereon, restraining cords connected to the rods and the edges of thewebs respectively, and web inclosing means for holding the webs infolded arrangement.

3. An aeroplane safety appliance including an extensible or contractiblesupporting arm having ends adapted to be moved relatively apart, twoparachute inclosing casing parts secured to the ends respectively of thearm, means for controlling the arms, and a parachute device havingsupporting arms tosupport it in position to be inclosed by the casingparts.

4. n a safety appliance for aeroplanes,

vthe combination with a folded and supported flight-retarding device, ofa supported bracket, two links pivoted to the bracket and provided eachwith a pivot, two arms pivotally connected together in crossed relationand connected to the pivots of the links respectively, two cover partssecured to said arms respectively to inclose the flight-retardingdevice, a hook link connected to one of said pivots and engageable withthe other of the pivots, a trip finger mounted on one of said links todisengage the hook link from said pivot, an operating device connectedto the trip finger, and supported springs connected with the pivotsrespectively. 1

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Elwood,Indiana, this 28th day of December, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andei hteen.

GARFIELD PETTIGREW. [1 8.

